***Chiefs @ Jaguars: Official Week 2 Game Day Thread***

[TopekaRoy]

My favorite Jaguars

[TopekaRoy]

Game Preview
from The Associated Press

Chiefs trying to avoid 0-2 start at Jags. It would be a rare deficit for defending Super Bowl champ

By AP Sep 14, 2023, 11:44 am

KANSAS CITY (0-1) at JACKSONVILLE (1-0)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, CBS

OPENING LINE: Chiefs by 3½, .

AGAINST THE SPREAD: Kansas City 0-1; Jacksonville 1-0.

SERIES RECORD: Chiefs lead 9-6, including seven consecutive wins.

LAST MEETING: Chiefs beat Jaguars 27-20 on Jan. 21, 2023, in Kansas City.

LAST WEEK: Chiefs lost to Lions 21-20; Jaguars won at Colts 31-21.

CHIEFS OFFENSE: OVERALL (12), RUSH (21), PASS (9), SCORING (T22).

CHIEFS DEFENSE: OVERALL (26), RUSH (4), PASS (22), SCORING (T14).

JAGUARS OFFENSE: OVERALL (10), RUSH (12), PASS (T7), SCORING (5).

JAGUARS DEFENSE: OVERALL (15), RUSH (4), PASS (22), SCORING (T19).

TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Chiefs even, Jaguars plus-1.

CHIEFS PLAYER TO WATCH: DT Chris Jones is expected to play for the first time this season after ending his holdout earlier this week and signing a reworked, one-year deal. Jones watched the opener from a suite at Arrowhead Stadium. He matched a career high with 15 1/2 sacks last season, but it’s unclear how effective he will be after missing the entire offseason, training camp and preseason games and only practicing a couple of days this week.

JAGUARS PLAYER TO WATCH: WR Calvin Ridley caught eight passes for 101 yards and a touchdown in his Jacksonville debut. He showed a combination of speed, elusiveness and playmaking ability that the franchise has lacked at the position since five-time Pro Bowler Jimmy Smith retired in 2006.

KEY INJURIES: Chiefs star TE Travis Kelce missed the opener after hyperextending his knee in practice two days before kickoff, but he's expected to play in Jacksonville. ... The Jaguars could be without two starting offensive linemen. Veteran RG Brandon Scherff (ankle) and second-year C Luke Fortner (ankle) missed practice Wednesday, with coach Doug Pederson saying Fortner is closer to being able to return.

SERIES Game notes
The Jaguars are 4-3 against the Chiefs in Jacksonville. … Jacksonville’s most recent win against Kansas City came on Nov. 8, 2009. … The previous two times the teams met in a home opener for the Jaguars, the Chiefs knocked out Jacksonville’s starting quarterback: Nick Foles (broken collarbone) in 2019 and Blaine Gabbert (gashed hand) in 2013.

STATS AND STUFF: The Chiefs are trying to avoid their first 0-2 start since 2014. … The most recent defending Super Bowl champ to start 0-2 was Denver in 1999 as the Broncos began life without Hall of Fame QB John Elway. … Kansas City's Andy Reid has 269 wins. One more would tie Tom Landry for fourth on the NFL’s career list. ... Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes needs 533 yards passing to reach 25,000. He also needs six TD passes to reach 200. ... Mahomes has 15 wins when the Chiefs have trailed entering the fourth quarter. ... Mahomes and Kelce have connected for 46 TDs. They are five behind Drew Brees and Jimmy Graham for third in QB-to-TE connections. ... Kelce needs five TD catches to pass Tony Gonzalez for second on the franchise list. ... Chiefs WR Kadarius Toney dropped three passes last week against Detroit, including one that was returned 50 yards for a TD. Kansas City dropped eight as a team. ... Chiefs RBs combined to run 14 times for 45 yards against the Lions. Mahomes had 45 yards rushing on six carries. ... The Chiefs had 11 different players catch a pass against Detroit. Nobody had more than 48 yards receiving. … The Jaguars are looking for their fourth 2-0 start in the past two decades, with the previous one coming in 2018. … Jacksonville has won six consecutive games as home underdogs, including a 5-0 record last season that was the best single-season mark in the Super Bowl era. … Pederson is 0-3 against his mentor, Reid. Pederson played and coached under Reid. ... The Jaguars have to find a way to slow down Kelce, who caught 20 passes for 179 yards and three TDs in their two games in 2022.

FANTASY TIP: Look for Toney and Jaguars WR Christian Kirk to have much better showings in Week 2 than they did in their openers. Toney combined for 140 total yards and a touchdown in the two head-to-head games last season while Kirk totaled 175 yards and three scores.

[TopekaRoy]

5 things to watch as the Chiefs play the Jaguars in Week 2
from ArrowheadPride.com

Kansas City is looking to avoid an 0-2 start with a tough road game in Jacksonville.

By Ron Kopp | @Ron_Kopp | Sep 16, 2023, 9:56am CDT


Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images

As the Kansas City Chiefs travel to Florida for Sunday’s Week 2 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, they are in a position in which they rarely find themselves: they’ve started the season 0-1 for the first time since 2014 — and need to avoid falling into the same 0-2 hole that they did that season. It ended up being the last time the Chiefs missed the playoffs.

That wasn’t unusual. Since 2002, just 10% of 0-2 teams have made the postseason. As odds-defying as Kansas City can be, the team’s players and coaches don’t want to put themselves in that position; to them, this rematch of last year’s AFC Divisional round game is very important.

According to DraftKings SportsBook, the Chiefs are 3.5-point favorites in Sunday’s game.

Here are five things to watch as Kansas City tries to even its record to 1-1.

1. Redemption for the Chiefs’ young pass-catchers


Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

After a very forgettable Week 1 performance, there is a lot of pressure on wide receivers Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore to prove they should be featured in Kansas City’s offense.

Even though he had little to show for it, Toney proved he could get open in the scheme. In the season opener, he tied the for the team lead in targets — despite playing only 25% of the offensive snaps. After missing the entire preseason, it’s clear that he was rusty. Drops aren’t usually a statistic that is useful for forecasting, so it’s very possible Toney ends up right back in the mix as an important playmaker.

Moore’s quiet day was a little more confusing — and almost discouraging. He led the team in snaps, but quarterback Patrick Mahomes targeted him only rarely — and otherwise hardly looked at him. When he talked to reporters on Thursday, Moore blamed a “lack of focus” in the wide receiver room — which may have trickled down to impact the confidence of the coaching staff (and quarterback) to get him the ball.

Here. tight end Travis Kelce’s return will be a key; he has been limited all week in practice, but is expected to play. Week 1’s sloppiness may simply be proof that Moore isn’t ready to be a primary target — but Week 2 could show us that he can produce as a complement to Kelce.

2. Chris Jones’ impact


Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images

Without defensive tackle Chris Jones in in the season opener, Kansas City had the league’s fourth-lowest team pressure rate — and was also one of only seven teams earning one (or fewer) sacks from their pressures.

That’s a far cry from where the team finished last season, when Jones’ dominant year helped rank it second in sacks and fifth in pressures. With his contract dispute resolved — at least for now — Jones is slated to play. He will be facing a Jacksonville offensive line that is dealing with ankle injuries for both right guard Brandon Scherff and center Luke Fortner; each was limited in his week’s practices.

With only a week of practices under his belt, it will be interesting to see how the Chiefs deploy Jones. On Thursday, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo would not name a snap count limit for his defensive lineman — but don’t be surprised if Jones is often sidelined on running plays. If he’s fatiguing quickly, that will be more of a problem against the run.
Continued in next post~~~

[TopekaRoy]

~~~Continued from previous post
3. Pass protection


Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

In last year’s playoff matchup, the Jaguars pressured Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes on 41% of his dropbacks — including the one that gave him the ankle sprain he had to overcome for the rest of the postseason.

That may have been one of the biggest reasons Kansas City changed out its offensive tackles in the offseason. The new group passed their first test in Week 1, mostly keeping the Detroit Lions’ star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson in check. But the Jaguars present a deeper group of rushers — especially on passing downs.

Outside linebacker Josh Allen tallied three sacks in Jacksonville’s season opener, while his running mate (and last year’s No. 1 draft pick Travon Walker) earned another. Defensive end Roy Robertson-Harris can also be a handful for interior offensive linemen.

On top of that, all of these players have familiarity with Kansas City right tackle (and former Jaguar) Jawaan Taylor. In this game, that wrinkle could go both ways.

4. The ups and downs of blitzing


Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports

Last season, the Chiefs found success blitzing Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence. In the playoff game, he completed just 45% of his passes when blitzed — and threw an interception.

Now, however, Lawrence has an additional weapon to help him beat man coverage behind a blitz: wide receiver Calvin Ridley. The duo showed plenty of chemistry in Week 1, as Ridley racked up 101 yards and a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts.

It’s going to be a great test for cornerback Trent McDuffie, who is likely to have the most responsibility in controlling Ridley. He’ll need to display the elite coverage talent that made him a Day 1 draft prospect.

5. Simple, short-yardage offense


Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

While the Chiefs’ passing game is set up for a bounce-back performance, the running game also needs to show more than it did in Week 1 — especially in short-yardage situations.

Against the Lions, it wasn’t the fault of the offensive line or running backs that we saw two failed jet-sweep attempts in these scenarios. That was on the coaching staff, which needs to challenge itself to use the team’s up-front offensive talent to physically overwhelm the opposition. While this can be improved with more downhill play-calls, it’s also about attitude.

Let’s see more of the nastiness that we know (and love) from right guard Trey Smith. Let’s see center Creed Humphrey use his wrestling background to overpower a defender. Let’s see running back Isiah Pacheco get the ball headed north — not east or west.

Let’s see all of that — especially on short-yardage plays. At this point, if the Chiefs want to be unpredictable, making the traditional play-call should do the trick.

[Eydugstr]

My favorite Jaguars

XKE....but today it's the only jaguar I'm cheering for

GO CHIEFS NO DROPS TODAY PLEASE

[TopekaRoy]

Links have been updated in Post #2.

Go Chiefs!!!

[matthewschiefs]

Lets do this thing

[Chiefster]

Jones better play lights out! Toney shouldn't see much action now that Kelce is back! Hopefully he doesn't re-agrivate that knee.

[Chiefster]

Lets do this thing

Let's Go!!!

[matthewschiefs]

Jones better play lights out! Toney shouldn't see much action now that Kelce is back! Hopefully he doesn't re-agrivate that knee.

Toney will have a bounce back game today :)

[Chiefster]

Toney will have a bounce back game today :)

Hope you're right.